LSDOn April 19, 1943, Dr. Albert Hofmann
dosed himself with 0.25 mg of d-lysergic acid diethylamide tartrate, which
he had accidentally ingested a few days earlier, and took his storied bike ride
through the streets of Basel, Switzerland. A generation later the substance,
abbreviated as LSD, fueled a cultural revolution despite criminalization in
1965. (LSD's social history can be read in Jay Stevens's 1987 _Storming Heaven_.)
The most potent of all psychedelics, LSD is usually ingested orally on blotter
paper frequently festooned with cultural icons. (Examples from recent LSD resurgences
include Bart Simpson
and Beavis and Butt-head.) While the typical late-'60s tripper probably took
around 250 mg of acid, the average strength of the hits sold in recent years,
known to old-timers as "disco doses," is less than half that. LSD embodies a
potentially infinite
array of effects, ranging from mild sensory distortions to peak religious experiences.
It is essentially a boundary-dissolving, experience-enhancing substance-as with
most psychedelics, the effects are tied to the mind-set of the user and the
setting in which it is ingested.

the CIA had an extensive role in spreading LSD throughout
the world. not in the promotion of dissolving
boundaries, but for studying it as a possible tool for mind control.
the mind expansion of the sixties was helped greatly by the CIA.

Effects

LSD generates a wide variety
of effects, the intensity
of which are related to the size of the dose ingested, the mental state
of the user, and the setting in which it is used. Although the minimum
dose required to induce effects is considered to be 25 micrograms, a dose
of as little as 10 micrograms can relax inhibitions and produce mild euphoria.
As the dosage is increased, the effects become more pronounced and more
prolonged.

LSD is absorbed easily from
the gastrointestinal tract, and rapidly reaches a high concentration in
the blood. It is circulated throughout the body and, subsequently, to the
brain. LSD is metabolized in the liver and is excreted in the urine in
about 24 hours.

Several factors provide LSD with a virtually inherent
governor to its regular use, meaning that the drug will never become as
frequently abused as other drugs, most notably, crack cocaine. First, the
duration of the effects, which may persist for up to 12 hours or more,
ensures that the user will not need to purchase the drug on a rapidly recurring
basis. Second, tolerance to the drug develops rapidly if used daily, rendering
its repeated ingestion useless, and cannot be overcome by ingestion of
increased dosages. Third, the uncertain
and mixed effects, especially adverse reactions, lead to erratic instances
of LSD use. Finally, the extremely powerful and intense hallucinations
often prompt users to abstain from LSD ingestion as they require periods
of reorientation.

Physical Effects

LSD use can produce a number
of physical changes: mydriasis (prolonged dilation of the pupil of the
eye), raised body temperature, rapid heartbeat, elevated
blood pressure, increased blood sugar, salivation, tingling in fingers
and toes, weakness, tremors, palpitations, facial flushing, chills, gooseflesh,
profuse perspiration, nausea, dizziness, inappropriate speech, blurred
vision, and intense anxiety. Death caused by the direct effect of
LSD on the body is virtually impossible. However, death related to LSD
abuse has occurred as a result of the panic reactions, hallucinations,
delusions, and paranoia experienced by users.

LSD distorts electrical
messages sent to and from various parts of the brain, primarily those pertaining
to visual information.
Messages from any of the senses can be perceived
as merged together, creating a sensation known as “synesthesia.”
This most commonly is represented as “hearing colors” or “seeing sounds.”

LSD also affects moods and emotions and suppressesmemory
centers and other higher cerebral functions, such as judgment, reason,
behavior control, and self-awareness. The combination and intensity of
these factors create the profound mental effects most closely associated
with LSD.

LSD is classified as a Schedule
I drug in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. As a Schedule I drug,
LSD meets the following three criteria: it is deemed to have a high potential
for abuse; it has no legitimate medical use in treatment; and, there is
a lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision. (*note:
this is offical description only, as I personally disagree with #2)

In psychiatry, the use of LSD by
students was an accepted practice; it was viewed as a teaching tool in an attempt
to understand schizophrenia. From the late 1940’s through the mid-1970’s, extensive
research and testing were conducted on LSD. During a 15-year period beginning
in 1950, research on LSD and other hallucinogens generated over 1,000 scientific
papers, several dozen books, and 6 international conferences, and LSD was prescribed
as treatment to over 40,000 patients.

samples: "I believe with
the advent of acid, we discovered new ways to think and it has to do with
piecing together new thoughts of mind. Why is it thatt people
are so afraid of it? What is it about it that scares people so deeply?
Because they are afraid that there is more to reality than they have ever
confronted. That there are doors that they are afraid to go
in and they don't want us to go in there either because if we go in,
there we might learn something that they don't know. And that
makes us a littleout
of their control." - Ken Kesey (instigator of acid
tests) from the documentary _LSD: 25_

"He is not seeing pretty
visions, he is seeing monsters....he is losing his mind and he feels it
going"....which was a military person talking and pointing at
a blackboard with a stick (from the same documentary)

"you're introduced to
L.S.D....unless you've taken some other drug, for instance marijuhuana or
something, then it's an altogether new thing! you can actually have, um
,a religious experience, which can be more important than reading the bible
six times, or becoming pope or something like that, you know?" - Timothy
Leary's young son

during a routine exercise,
troops lose all semblance on how to operate their radio, the commander not
being able to control himself or his troops. one soldier was experiencing
a bad trip so he had to be taken away. most are giggling, laughing,
climbing trees, and feeding the birds. obviously, LSD does not make
good soldiers, that is why the military and the government are afraid of
it, as they would all lose their jobs. - @Om*
11/14/02

experimental drum
and bass noise release _The Word Spread That It Was Conceived On LSD
For Consumption On Exstasy_
7" by DJ Scud on Wabana Ore Limited (1999)

5 May 1955 An internal CIA memo emphasizes the need
for a drug that creates a state of "pure euphoria" and no letdown.
From this springs Operation Midnight Climax, in which CIA brothels were set
up in San Francisco, and their customers surreptitiously dosed with LSD by
prostitutes. Operative George Hunter White observed reactions behind a two
way mirror, purely in the interest of science.

1968 - LSD possession declared a misdemeanor, sale
a felony; the British Wootton Report declares marijuana to be relatively harmless

By 1965, researchers had published
more than 2,000 papersdescribing the treatment
of 30,000 to 40,000 patients withpsychedelic drugs,
including mescaline and psilocybin,
but mostlywith LSD. Among the more stunning results
were studies in whichLSD was given in high doses
to children suffering from schizophrenia
and autism. One such study reported that for a group of youngautistic
children with speech difficulties, "the vocabularies of severalof the children
increased after LSD." What's more, "several seemedto
be attempting to form words or watched adults carefully as theyspoke; many seemed
to comprehend speech for the first time." The autistic children all "appeared
flushed, bright-eyed and unusuallyinterested in
the environment."

Even more dramatic were the
successes during the 1950s and 1960sin treating
chronic alcoholics at Hollywood Hospital in BritishColumbia
and at Spring Grove State Hospital in Baltimore. After ingesting relatively
large doses of LSD (up to 800 micrograms, insome
cases) and undergoing directed therapy, about half of allpatients
"were able to remain sober or to drink much less," according to pioneers
Bernard Aaronson and Humphrey Osmond(who coined
the word psychedelic") in their book Psychedelics(1970).
Often after only one dose patients remained totally abstinent. "This
seems to be a universal statistic for LSD therapy," theyreported.

Exactly how LSD worked for alcoholics, heroin addicts
and schizophrenic children remains something of a mystery. One school of
thought advanced the theory that a "peak" LSD experience can be
as nerve-rattling as a case of the delerium tremens, which many reformed
alcoholics cite as the nadir before they decided to stop boozing. Others
noted that patients weren't likely to experience a dramatic recovery unless
the LSD experience was guided by a skilled therapist.

In fact, to this day scientists
know little about how LSD interactswith the
human brain on a neurological level. The ban on humanresearch
with LSD is partly to blame. But beyond that, LSD operates in mysterious
ways. The drug remains in the brain for arelatively
short period, isappearing at about the time the mental lightshow
begins. This short half-life of the drug suggests that the hours ofhallucinations
and consciousness-warping experienced by acid eatersis
due not to the drug itself, but to some little-understoodneurochemical
chain of events unleashed by LSD.